Sarah's African river litter

H3gzi's Safari, owned by Sarah, and Babbett's Mimer, owned by Matmor, were mated
2008-12-07. 2008-12-30 Safari gave birth to 11
healthy pups that all grew well. 7 were boys, 4 girls. There were no stillborns in the litter.
Eight out of eleven rats were still alive at 24 months. At 30 months two were among the living.
The last one to go was euthanised at 35 months.

In collaboration with Sarah the information on the litter
is placed here.

This page would not be possible without the support of the customers who have sent us updates.
Thank you, all of you!

The beginning

Advertisment at NTF's forum 2008.11.18

We would like to see Safari and Mimer get their holiday fling in late in December - and now
we wonder who will be interested in the kittens.
Safari, born 27/4 2008 among H3gZi's 1.st Litter, are agouti berkshire rex carrying dumbo
(AaHhDuduRere).
She is a lively girl filled with curiosity. Introducing her to the cagemates no problem
at all. She has never been ill. Owner: Sedra (NTF nick)
You can read more about Safari at http://sarahs-tamrotteri.piczo.com (Norwegian only)

Babbett's Mimer, born 16/8 2007, is a ruby eyed mink berkshire (probably aaGgHhmmRrDu-) with
a 50% chance of carrying dumbo. Mimer is a calm snugglebear with an excellent temper.
He has been through several introductions as an adult, both with babyrats and adult males,
and always behaved like a perfect gentleman. He has never been ill. Owner: Matmor

We expect agouti and black self, berkshires, hooded, rex and standard, with a possiblity for dumbo.
Other colors are possible as both Safari and Mimer may be carrying several colour modifying genes.
Safari's pedigree can be viewd at Matmor's home page under Mimer, Mimer's pedigree is available at
http://matmor.info
Klick the link under Mimer on the page Small creatures, great personalities.

NB! Safari's and Mimer's pedigrees have been removed as it is not neccesary to maintain them when the information
is included in the pedigree for the Sarah's African rivers litter

Pedigree for the pups

(not yet translated)further information available upon contact

Safari 14 days pregnant

Pregnancy

Sarah brought Safari and a companion to Matmor 2008.12.06. Safari came into heat 2008.12.07 and spent the night with Mimer.
Frequent copulations were observert. The wax plug, however, was not found next morning. Because Safari's weight gain was
slow and somewhat uneven,
Safari stayed with Matmor until we felt confident she was pregnant. Safari was noticably more rotund by day 12. She started to
build a nest at approximately day 14 and lost the hairs around her nipples at day 16.
She was returned to Sarah 2008.12.25 and placed in a birthing cage on the 2008.12.27.
The pups were born in the afternoon of 2008.12.30.

Safari's weight before mating was 351g. She started by loosing 3 g at day 1 -
the two of them must have had one busy night. After a week of uneven weight gain she had
put on 26,5g, but the she lost 7,5 g again. The day after her weight was even
one g less! Eventually I discovered that weighing her each morning before breakfast
gave more even results. From day 10 and onward she gained weight every day,
but the increase varied between 1 and 17,5 g.
At day 21 she had gained 107 g. After that she was not inclined to be weighed, so the exact weight gain before birth
at day 23 is not known.

Litter information

G1 Stormsd. 2011.12.08Agouti (light)mismarked hooded rex

G2 Kasaid. 2011.01.07Blackeuberk

G3 Jubbad. 2011.11.25Blackeuberk

G4 Bahr el Zarafd. 2011.02.14Black mismarked hooded1)
rex

G5 Olifantsd. 2011.01.31Black-basert (poor black)mismarked hooded

G6 Maniad. 2011.03.29Blackself

G7 Afrikd. 2010.11.18Agouti (light) self

J1 Limpopo*d. 2011.02.23Agouti (light)dumbo rex euberk
(the customer has called her Cinnamon on her own net pages)
*changed from St. Paul
"Paula", changed to "Bella"

J2 Benue "Mimmi"d. 2011.11.18Agoutieuberk

J3 Shebelled. Sept./Oct. 2010Agouti (light)euberk2) rex

J4 Victoria Niled. 2011.03.29Agouti (light)euberk rex

pups with unusualcolors had a red-brownsheen to their eyes 2009-01-17

1) small headspot (2 white hair on the forhead) 2009-02-06.2) small "bellyspot" on her side, could be a self genotype 2009-02-06.
All the pups are carrying mink (Mm). There is a 50% chance that each carries ruby eye (Rr),
siamese (Cch) and (English) blue (Dd).
According to the pedigree they have slimmer chances of carrying mock mink (Momo), (European)
Husky (-/hRo?)
and Russian blue (Rbrb), and even less likely chocolate (Bb) og pink eye (Pp).
Since one of the pups turned out to be a dumbo the top eared siblings have a 66,6% chance of
carrying dumbo.

Weight development

Extract from owner reports

Name

Health

Owner

Storms

6 m. Probably an infected salivary gland, recovered with Baytril12 m. Healthy18 m. Healthy24 m. Healthy30 m. Smelly ear which does not respond to antibiotic treatment, otherwise healthypost 30 m. operated for mammary cancer Dec. 2011. Recovered well at first but lost sight, smell and hearing a few days after the operation. Euthanised 2011-12-08.

6m Curious, confident, and hangs relaxedly when lifted.
Potential snugglebear.12m Easy to handle and contact seeking but does not want to be lifted. Even so he hangs relaxedly.18m Hangs well but does not want to be caught. Contact seeking but does not see the point of being stroked, even though he suffers it for a bit longer than his brother Jubba.24m As before, possibly a little more willing to be petted.30m Loves to be cuddledpost 30m No change

6m Not much willing to flip over on his back
as a pup.
Play fights and tumbles with his brother,
more determined shows of strenght with older
cagemates, but no damages.12m Lives with brother. They tumble a bit. Have met with baby rats and behaved well.18m Lives with brother. They have short bouts of disagreement which lasts for seconds only. Hart to tell which is Top rat.24m As before30m Lives in age mixed group, introduced at 2 y and took over as alpha. Showed dominant traits but not aggression when taking over. Left alpha position peacefully. Formerly food aggressive when presented with
tidbits, not over normal straits. This has passed.past 30 m No changes

Kasai

6m Formerly frightened and stiff, could not be petted,
can now be hadled after massage therapy12m happy and good natured18m Contact seeking, kind, a little stiff when lifted24m Kind and loving, less stiff than formerlypost 30 m no change

6m Formerly frigthened and squeaky, gave wrong signals to the other rats
Now more relaxed.
Kind to the new babies.12m gets along well with other rats18m gets along well with other rats. Of intermediate rank. Recently received new baby rat well.24m mostly fine with other rats, but Dec. 2010 food aggressive when hungry. Alpha for a group of kittens, fluffed up his fur for a long time during introductions.post 24m -

Jubba

6m Sligthly more skittish than Storm in the beginning, but tame and confident
Trusting and a potentil snugglebear12m good for cuddles, first to the cage door. Does not hang as relaxedly as his brother Storm, inquisitive18m Inquisitive but careful. Good company, contact seeking but not really cuddly. Still too active.24m as before30m Contact seeking, comes for a cuddly but does not stay longpost 30m-

6m Before: squeaker who was quick to protest, but less
difficult than Storm.
Much better now.12m gets along well with brother Storm18m hard to say which brother is Alpha. Sometimes disagreements lasting seconds only. Not introduced to other rats as adult.24m as before30m lives alone and seems to thrive that way. After re-homing he became aggressive to other rats including his brother. Does not like neither females nor males, rubs up to things and scent marks all the time outside the cagepost 30m can be aired with other rats and stay in a travelling cage with them for a short while. Mostly keeps to himself.

Bahr el Zaraf

6m Handsom and lovely boy, keen but not as eager as his uncles
evolving into a real snugglebear12m mostly unchanged18m fine as before24m no changepost 24m no change

6m Playful but calm, well integrated among his cagemates,
became Alpha without a fight12m castrated for dominant behaviour, eventually settled in girl group18m gets along well with the girls24m as beforepost 24m no change

Olifants

6m Average need for contact, ready for snuggleing already
hangs totally relaxed when handled.12m too lazy to compete for contact, but grateful for being snuggled18m contact seeking when the brothers have had their fill of attention. Enjoys cuddles and hangs relaxedly.24mpost 24m no change

6m Lively, but became Alpha peacefully
4 m. old: received an older castrate well at introduction12m probably alpha but easy going type who gets along well with all18m gets along well, beta, great at adult introductions24m as before. Also loving towards rat babies and steadypost 24m no change, except for withdrawn when in pain

Mania

6m Less contact seeking than Afrik, Victoria, and Olifants
but likes to snuggle and is easy to handle12m a little reserved but likes a cuddle and easy to handle18m easy to handle, contact seeking, patient when being petted24m comes for his cuddles, hangs relaxedlypost 24m no change

6m Does not put himself
foreward, but social
4 m. old: received an older castrate well at introduction12m gets along well in his cage, probably omega type18m gets along well in his cage, has been on loan to older male rat but slid right back in his group after a couple of months abscence24m gets along well in his cage, fine introduction to his own babies and to adult male at 17 1/2mpost 24mm no change

Afrik

6m Lively and contact seking, enjoys snuggling for short periods,
confident, fun12m contact seeking, active, likes a cuddle18m contact seeking, begs for a cuddle but does not stay long, not quite as active as
formerly, hangs relaxedly when held (the latter is not a new trait)post 18m contact seeking and eager for cuddle to his last day

6m Lively and playful, loves a friendly tumble with Olifants, the Alpha
4 m. old: received an older castrate well at introduction 12m gets along well in his group18m gets along well in his group. Alpha. Behaved well during adult introduction at 14m.post 18m no conflicts, behaved well during introduction to nephews.

Saint Paul/Limpopo
"Paula"/"Bella"

6mLively, does not have much time for snuggleing but kisses readily.12m Inquisitive, gentle and comes for a cuddle18m Contact seeking and cuddly24m as beforepost 24m no change

6m Lively and playful but in a calm way12m Good, of intermediate rank18m Good, of intermediate rank, easily introduced to adult females
24m no changepost 24m no change

Benue
"Mimmi"

6m Kind but wild, needs to be tired to have time for a cuddle
became nervous at 6 weeks old and remains so.
12m Receives cuddles willingly, sometimes contact seeking other times not. Hormonal hysteria seen thrice when in season. When hysterica she prefers sitting inside my sweater.18m Contact seeking and cuddly. Can sit for long periods on my shoulder and lean toward my neck. Less patient when on my armpost 18m no change

6m Mostly complacent but often wild, ants in her pants
suspected of causing light injury to cagemates in a fit and barbering a cage mate. (The barbering did not stop after "Mimmi" was removed from the group, and later events more or less cleared her of the suspicion of aggression too.)12m no problems during introductions to two castrated male rats and sister Victoria around 9m. Usually fine in a group, sometimes she withdraws. Hormonal hysteria witnessed thrice during heat.18m gets along well, of middle rank, behaved well during introduction to adult females.post 18m kindly to her small nephews and nieces during introduction. Got along well with flock members but withdrew from the bustle because of disease.

Shebelle

6m At times somewhat tense, at times too active to be held,
somewhat hormonal, on a good day all sweet and kind12m Relaxed when handled but not loving to humans18m no changepost 18m no change

6m Adapted very well to her cagemates12m Alpha, somewhat dominant at introductions but not for long18m gets along better in a calm group of femalespost 18m no change

Victoria

6m Contact seeking and active, grooms my nails
Kind and fun, not nervous but needs to be activated12m Contact seeking, cuddly, no more active than most female rats of her age18m Contact seeking, loving to humans, prefers short bouts of cuddling24m Contact seeking, loving to humans and good for a longish cuddle

6m Well intergrated among the cagemates at former home and here
No behaviour problems at introducion to my castrates at 5 months12m Gets along very well in a group. Caring. No problems with introduction to sister at around 9m18m Gets along well in the group but did show irritable and dominant behaviour during a false pregnancy. Alpha. Received new, adult flock members well.24m Gets along well, and received her 4 week old nieces and nephews gracefully. No negative behaviour toward the pregnant Helle. Probably Alpha.post 24m no change

Belly markings

None of the pups inherited Safaris fine, symmetrical "bikini triangle". Some, however,
got dark belly spots from daddy Mimers. I am inclined to believe that the dark spots are
a dominant trait, as I have not heard of dark belly spots in Safari's family.
Possibly they are mainly expressed in the males? I refer to the name "pungflekker" (testicle spots),
which is well known in Sweeden. If anybody knowe how these dark belly spots are inherited
(not downunder) I am interested... However inherited, these belly markings, and the white ones,
develope over time. Just look at the bellies of Bahr el Zaraf and Limpopo as babies and as adults!

Mimer's belly (more dark spots higher up on his chest)

Baby Bahr: dark belly spot and testicle spots

Adult Bahr

Kasai: squiggly European Berkshire with two small black spots

Jubba: squiggly European Berkshire, no black spots

Olifants: two "mammary spots" and a testicle spot

Victoria: assymetric European Berkshireno dark spots

Baby Limpopo: assymetric European Berkshire

Adult Limpopo: assymetric European Berkshire

Benue "Mimmi": fairly good european berkshire

Afrik and Mania are Self so dark belly spots will not show if inherited.

Message to the owners

If you have not received the e-mail, get in touch!
Main gist of e-mail sent to the owners2009.02.27, sent by Matmor: One of the owners has decided she wants to call her rat Limpopo rather than St.Paul.
Change accepted and will be added to the information about the litter.

2009.03.16, sent by Matmor: Information about Safari moving to Anexet, and that the new
owner will keep us updated on Safari's health. Update of health information for Mimer and treatment of health information
about relatives. Questions to the owners of the females from the litter about plans for breeding before the 6 months.
update.

2009.03.17, sent by Matmor: small update

2009.04.24, sent by Matmor: message of Mimer's death

2009.06.01, sent by Matmor: reminder on 6-month report, information that Victoria has been
re-homed to Matmor.

2009.07.02, sent by Matmor: reminder for the buyer that did not deliver the 6-month report in time

2009.07.07, sent by Matmor: 6 month report for 10 of 11 rotter (to those who contributed)

2009.08.12, sent by Matmor: 6 month report with information included for the 11.th rat, and
recent updates on family members

2009.09.01, sent by Matmor: Benue "Mimmi" has come home with me after reports of barbering
one cagemate and possibly biting both.

2009.09.21, sent by Matmor: Limpopo to be re-homed, Bahr dominant, Benue calmed down, news of
death among elderly relatives

2009.10.15, sent by Matmor: Limpopo re-homed to "Trond Martin" at NTF's forum, Bahr castrated for
dominant behaviour, owners with breeding plans for the males in early 2010 should contact breeders if applicable.

2009.11.02:, sent by Matmor: message of H3gZi's Safari's death, supplementary information and correction of Mimer's family tree (far back generations)

2009.11.15, sent by Matmor: autopsy report for Safari, Bahr placed in girl group after
castration, source for corrections in pedigree:
Od Lizy.

2009.12.16, sent by Matmor: Bahr has eventually calmed down in the girl group. Reminder of one year-report due 2009-12-30, request for information
from breeders of relatives will be sent.

2010.01.07, sent by Matmor: reminder of 1 year report to the ones who have not sent it yet

2010.01.09, sent by Matmor: new reminder

2010.01.10, sent by Matmor: draft of 12 month report to owners and Mimer's breeder Babbett

2010.01.17, sent by Matmor: final 12 month report, Limpopo has a mammary lump

2010.04.28, sent by Matmor: questions about health and temper because of breeding plans

2010.05.14, sent by Matmor: Shebelle has (mammary)tumor

2010.06.27, sent by Matmor: reminder of 18 month report

2010.07.04, sent by Matmor: draft for 18 month report

2010.07.13, sent by Matmor: 18-month report to all buyers and Babbett, additional information about Jubba and Storm gaining weight after
a change in feed routines.

2010.08.10, sent by Matmor: mammary tumors and a cyst are probably the cause for Benue's mastitis.

2010.09.27, sent by Matmor: Mania fathered 11 pups born 2010.09.21, reminder that health problems should be reported when they occur, short updates on
Kasai as well as his five siblings residing with Matmor

2010.11.18, sent by Matmor: Afrik and Benue euthanised today, lumps were not mammary tumors but fatty deposit for Afrik and abscesses for Benue (confirmed by autopsy).

2010.12.28, sent by Matmor: reminder 24 month report

2011.01.11, sent by Matmor: 24 month report, Kasai euthanised because of tumor in ear, Jubba and Storm has been re-homed to Larm.

2011.01.31, sent by Matmor: Olifants euthanised because of joint pain and side effects of steroides

2011.02.14, sent by Matmor: Bahr found dead in cage, possibly from choking as he still had food in his mouth

2011.02.24, sent by Matmor: Limpopo "Bella" died of old age yesterday, with but not because of mammary tumors

2011.03.29, sent by Matmor: Mania and Victoria were euthanized today. Mania because of HLD, blindness, loss of appetite and a pus filled lung, Victoria because of a mammary tumor.

2011.04.15, sent by Matmor: Storm is being treated for an ear infection. Jubba has had surgery because of a mammary tumor. Updates will no longer be sent, except for a final report when the remaining brothers
have passed away, or at 2 1/2 years. The web page will be updated.